Episode 21 Mastermind

First in the spotlight tonight is the Rev Simon Rundell,

a vicar from Plymouth.

His subject - Monty Python.

Next, Kate Jamieson, a student from Wincanton.

She answers questions on Lord Nelson.

Mark Skinner is a bookseller from Cambridge and his subject is Tintin.

And Rob Hemming, a writer from Evesham.

His subject is the African animals known as the Big Five.

Hello and welcome to Mastermind with me, John Humphrys.

This is the quiz show where the contenders can swot up on their specialist subjects

as much as they like

but what they can't prepare for is the way they will react

under the pressure of the lights and the clock.

And then there's the general knowledge round,

the one that really sorts them out.

Two minutes on one, two and a half minutes on the other.

And the big prize? Well, the honour of becoming the nation's Mastermind.

So let's ask our first contender to join us, please.

-And your name is?

-Simon Rundell.

-Your occupation?

-I'm a Church of England vicar.

-And your chosen subject?

-Monty Python.

Monty Python. Two minutes starting now.

Which march by Sousa was used as the title music for Monty Python¹s Flying Circus?

Liberty Bell.

Which of the original six Pythons did not appear in the final BBC series,

although he is credited as a writer for several episodes?

John Cleese.

During the Inquisition¹s interrogation of a woman on suspicion of heresy,

what does Cardinal Biggles poke her with

before Cardinal Fang is ordered to "fetch the comfy chair"?

-A washing-up rack.

-No, cushions, actually.

The third series features an all-England contest

for summarising the work of which writer in 15 seconds,

once in a swimsuit and once in evening dress?

Marcel Proust.

Which female singer appears as herself, along with Ringo Starr of the Beatles,

at the end of an episode in the third series?

Lulu.

The giant foot that appears at the end of the original opening titles

was taken from a painting of Venus and Cupid by which artist?

Bronzino.

Who produced the first four episodes of Monty Python

before handing over to Ian MacNaughton?

Pass.

Which WWII battle is re-enacted by the Batley Townswomen¹s Guild?

-The battle of... Pearl Harbor.

-Pearl Harbor, yeah.

What is the name of the character played by Michael Palin

in rolled-up trousers and a knotted hankie,

who tells a doctor, "My brain hurtsº?

EL Gumby.

Who is the surprise inclusion in the German philosophers' football team

playing against Greece?

Er, Beckenbauer.

What is the name of the venue for the 127th Upper Class Twit of the Year Show,

won by Gervaise Brooke-Hamster?

Hurlingham.

When Michael Palin books an argument, what reason does the receptionist give

for sending him to see Mr Barnard rather than to Mr du Beke?

Because he's a little bit conciliatory.

What is the full name of the animated character who appears in episode number 23

where his teeth are seen dancing to the music of a fairground organ?

Conrad Poohs.

Which spoof game show, presented by Michael Palin,

has a postal address of "Behind the Hot-water Pipes,

"Third Washroom Along, Victoria Station"?

Blackmail.

According to the subtitle of episode six,

which imaginary Hungarian award had it been entered for by the BBC?

The Golden Stoat. BEEP

-Actually, it was the Zinc Stoat.

-Ah!

-But that was very close.

It was the Zinc Stoat of Budapest, as it happens.

You had just one pass. It was John Howard Davies who produced the first four episodes

before handing over to Ian MacNaughton.

You have, Simon, 12 points.

APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

-And your name is?

-Kate Jamieson.

-Your occupation?

-Student.

-And your chosen subject?

-The life and career of Lord Nelson.

Lord Nelson in two minutes.

Whom did Nelson describe as "one of the very best women in this world"

in a letter to his wife after they met in Naples in September 1798?

Emma Hamilton.

Horatio Nelson joined the Royal Navy on board HMS Raisonnable in 1771.

What relation was the captain, Maurice Suckling, to Nelson?

Uncle.

What was the meaning of Signal Number 39,

which, according to popular legend,

Nelson claimed not to see during the Battle of Copenhagen?

Er...

-To cease the battle.

-Discontinue the action, yes.

During the Battle of Trafalgar, which ship, captained by Eliab Harvey,

came to the aid of Nelson's flagship Victory

after she became locked together with the Redoutable?

-Royal Sovereign.

-No, the Temeraire.

During which battle in July 1794 did Nelson write to Lord Hood,

"I got a little hurt this morning - not much, as you may judge from my writing"?

-Er, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

-No, Calvi.

Nelson spent the Christmas of 1800 with the Hamiltons

at Fonthill Abbey, the Wiltshire home of which novelist?

-Becker.

-Beckford.

What collective name did Nelson give to the group of trusted senior officers

whom he commanded from the Battle of the Nile until his death?

Band Of Brothers.

According to the memorandum written by Nelson shortly before Trafalgar,

ªNo captain can do very wrong if he places his ship...º where?

"Alongside that of his enemy."

Which of Nelson¹s crew saved his life twice in hand-to-hand fighting

on a barge accompanying a bomb vessel

during the bombardment of Cadiz in July 1797?

Pass.

Whom did Nelson promote to his Flag Captain on the Vanguard,

having sent Edward Berry to London

with news of the victory at the Battle of the Nile?

Pass.

At which port did Nelson and the Hamiltons arrive back in England in November 1800

following their overland journey from Naples?

-Chatham.

-Yarmouth.

Which admiral did Nelson criticize in letters to his wife

for failing to fully engage the French in the Mediterranean in the summer of 1795?

-Jervis.

-No, Hotham.

During the Battle of Cape St Vincent,

which ship did Nelson first capture then use as a bridge

to take the much larger San Josef?

BEEP Pass.

Well, I can tell you. It was the San Nicolas.

You had two other passes, Kate.

It was Hardy that Nelson promoted to his flag captain on the Vanguard.

And John Sykes is the man who saved his life twice in hand to hand fighting.

-You have, Kate, five points.

-APPLAUSE

And our next contender, please.

-And your name is?

-Mark Skinner.

-Your occupation?

-Bookseller.

-And your chosen subject?

-The Tintin books of Herge.

The Tintin books in two minutes.

What was the name of the Belgian artist who created the Tintin series of comics

and who wrote under the pen-name of Herge?

Georges Remi.

What was the English title of the first Tintin comic,

originally published in a supplement to a Belgian newspaper

beginning in 1929?

Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets.

In which adventure does the scientist Frank Wolff

explain to Tintin and Captain Haddock

how a nuclear reactor works?

Destination Moon.

Who or what appears in the first frame of the Tintin mystery

the Castafiore Emerald

and is eventually revealed as the jewel thief at the end of the story?

A thieving magpie.

Which super salesman from Lisbon appears for the first time

in the Tintin adventure Cigars Of The Pharaoh,

reappearing in Land Of Black Gold and other later books?

Oliveira de Figueira.

Of which ship is Captain Haddock drunkenly in charge

when he appears for the first time in the Crab With The Golden Claws?

Karaboudjan.

Which real-life character is depicted

as trying to control diamond production in Africa

in the adventure Tintin In The Congo?

Al Capone.

What creatures are called "a pair of perambulating fire pumps"

by Captain Haddock in Prisoners Of The Sun?

-Parrots?

-Llamas.

What unlikely weapon is used to knock out an informant

about to disclose some vital information to Tintin

at the start of the story Tintin In America?

-A vase?

-A boomerang.

Which pirate captain captures the Unicorn,

the ship of Captain Haddock's ancestor in The Secret Of The Unicorn.

Red Rackham.

Two characters replaced the railway porters of the original version

in the first frame of the coloured reissue of Tintin In The Congo in 1946.

What were there names?

Thomson and Thompson.

What type of aircraft is the arms dealer Dawson selling to General Alcazar

at the start of The Red Sea Sharks?

De Havilland Mosquito.

What was the name of the leader of the Iron Guard fifth columnists

in state of Syldavia in King Ottokar's Sceptre?

Musstler.

Which overtly political Tintin story depicts

the events surrounding the invasion of Manchuria by Japan

and the subsequent Japanese withdrawal from the League of Nations

in 1933?

The Blue Lotus.

-Which real-life arms dealer...

-BEEP

..with a reputation for playing one country off against another to create demand

who is satirised by Herge in the Tintin story The Broken Ear?

-Basil Zaharoff.

-Is correct.

No passes, Mark. You've scored 13 points.

APPLAUSE

And our final contender, please.

-And your name is?

-Rob Hemming.

-Your occupation?

-Writer.

-And your chosen subject?

-The African Big Five.

The African Big Five in two minutes.

In Africa, the Big Five is a term used by big game hunters

to describe the most difficult animals to track.

They are the elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros and...?

Lion.

What are the groups of spots on a leopard¹s body called -

they're broken circles of irregular dark marks?

Rosettes.

How many sets of cheek teeth does an elephant have over its lifetime?

The animal dies after its last teeth are lost.

Six.

What term, also used in politics, is used for a group of young male lions

who live together after leaving the birth pride?

-Pride. Oh.

-Coalition.

In male buffalo, what is the large shield on the top of the head called...

-Boss.

-..where the two horns meet?

-Sorry. Boss.

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park,

where a rare, very dark subspecies of leopard is found

is predominantly in which country?

Uganda.

What colour are the marks on the back of a lion¹s ears

that are used as an indication of aggression

when the ears are twisted and drawn back to make the marks visible?

Black.

What Arabic word meaning soldier,

also used in Swahili for a police officer,

is sometimes given to young bull elephants

that form a loose alliance with older bulls and help give them protection?

Pass.

What term from the Zulu word for mud is given to old buffalo

that have left the main herd and spend their time wallowing in mud?

Dagga boys.

The horn of the rhinoceros is composed of what fibrous protein material?

Keratin.

The scientific name of the black or hook-lipped rhino is Diceros bicornis.

What is the scientific name of the white or square-lipped rhino?

-Ceratotherium serum.

-Simum but yes.

In which African mountain is the Kitum Cave

that has been excavated for centuries

by herds of elephants seeking natural salt in the rock?

Elgon.

What term is given to the period that adult bull elephants intermittently go through

in which they exhibit very aggressive and unpredictable behaviour,

with heightened testosterone levels?

Musth.

What is the prominent lump behind the head of the white rhino,

which helps distinguish it from the black rhino?

Pass.

How many days is usually given as the gestation period of a buffalo?

BEEP Pass.

All right. I'll tell you. It's 314.

-LAUGHTER

-The two other passes.

That prominent lump behind the head of a white rhino is a nuchal, NUCHAL, hump.

And the Arabic meaning soldiers is askari.

With those three passes, Rob, you have scored 11 points.

APPLAUSE

Well, some close scoring, there. Let's have a look at them.

In fourth place with five points, Kate Jamieson.

Third place, 11 points, Rob Hemming.

Second place, 12 points, Simon Rundell.

In the lead with 13 points, Mark Skinner.

And it is the general knowledge round now

and if there's a tie at the end of it, then the number of passes is taken into account

and the person with the fewer passes is the winner.

If they're tied on passes as well, then there will be a tie-break.

And the six highest scoring runners-up from these heats

will also be able to claim a place in the semifinals, so plenty to play for.

Let's get on with it and ask Kate Jamieson to join us again, please.

And you start off with five points with your knowledge of Nelson.

Let's see how you do with general knowledge. You have two and a half minutes. Here we go.

What is the common name for the extreme tiredness felt by someone

after a long flight across different time zones?

Jet lag.

Which Indian town, whose name is synonymous with tea,

was developed as a sanatorium for British troops from 1835?

Darjeeling.

Which British actor has won Golden Globe and Emmy awards

for his portrayal of a controversial doctor in the television series House?

Hugh Laurie.

The President of North Vietnam from 1945 to '69

was generally known by what pseudonym meaning "he who enlightens"?

Pass.

Which London building that for many years housed the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths

is now a big arts centre?

-The Tate Modern.

-Somerset House.

Which choirmaster led a group of military wives to chart-topping success in 2011

with the song Wherever You Are?

Pass.

What is the title of Zadie Smith's 2006 Orange Prize-winning novel?

It is said by the author to be a homage to EM Forster's Howards End.

Pass.

In April 2012, which British sporting contest had to be restarted

after the anti-elitist protester Trenton Oldfield appeared between the two sides?

The Oxford-Cambridge boat race.

Picasso's design of which bird was used for the World Peace Congress poster in 1949?

Dove.

What is the name of the domed, rich, yeasted fruit cake from Milan,

traditionally eaten at Christmas and Easter?

Panettone.

Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels was the first feature-length film

for which director?

Oh... Guy Ritchie.

Which behavioural condition where a person feigns illness to gain attention

is named after a German nobleman famous for telling tall stories?

-Hypochondria.

-Munchausen syndrome.

What title is held by the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism,

the country's ruler until the Chinese imposed military rule in 1959?

-Burma.

-The Dalai Lama.

Which singer, who came to fame in 2001 with her debut single I'm Like A Bird,

was born in Canada to Portuguese parents

and was named after a celebrated Soviet Olympic gymnast?

Nelly Furtado.

The Mole And The Water-Rat was a working title

of which literary classic for children?

The Wind In The Willows.

Which island kingdom was ruled by Queen Salote from 1918 to 1965?

She famously rode in an open carriage in the pouring rain

at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second?

Pass.

What name is given to the short-lived male honey bees,

whose only duty is to mate with the queen?

Pass.

-Which sign of the zodiac represented by a ram...

-BLEEPING

..marks the beginning of the astrological year?

-Aries.

-Aries is correct.

You have five passes.

Those honey bees, the ones whose only job is to mate with the queen,

they're called drones.

It was the Queen of Tonga who rode in the open carriage.

The title of Zadie Smith's book was - is - On Beauty.

Gareth Malone was that very famous choirmaster

and Ho Chi Minh was the president of North Vietnam.

You have, Kate, now a total of 15 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Rob Hemming again, please.

And you begin with 11 points, with your knowledge of the Big Five.

Now it's general knowledge. Two and a half minutes. Here we go.

What name is given to the Japanese art of folding paper into objects

without cutting or pasting?

Origami.

Which German city hosted the summer Olympic Games in 1972?

Munich.

Which small, brightly coloured bird with a relatively long bill

is native to the New World

and has the ability to fly in all directions, including backwards?

Hummingbird.

Who was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Rita in the 1983 film Educating Rita?

Julie Walters.

Which conservation body acquired its first building,

Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex, for £10 in 1896?

-English Heritage.

-The National Trust.

What did Oscar Wilde supposedly say "is the curse of the drinking classes"?

Work.

Which city in Missouri, the hometown of President Harry S Truman,

was the starting point for people going west

on the Oregon, California and Santa Fe wagon trails?

Pass.

Who published the first edition of the almanac that bears his name in 1864,

the year after he retired as a cricketer?

-Old Moore.

-John Wisden.

The phrase "cleaning windows" has featured in the title of songs

by George Formby and which singer born in Northern Ireland in 1945?

Pass.

The former Cabinet Secretary, Sir Robert Armstrong, admitted

to being "economical with the truth"

during the government's attempt to suppress publication of which book?

Spycatcher.

What was the name of the first American shuttle to go into space?

It made its maiden flight in April 1981?

-Discovery.

-Columbia.

The landmarks of which city include Sugar Loaf Mountain

and the giant statue of Christ The Redeemer on Mount Corcovado?

Rio de Janeiro.

What momentous historical event took place

outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall on 30th January 1649?

Pass.

Which actor, who died in June 1987,

played the chief warder, Mr Mackay, in the television comedy Porridge?

Erm... Fulton Mackay.

What is the name of the Northamptonshire ancestral home of the Spencers,

the family of the late Diana, Princess of Wales?

Oh... Pass.

Which opera by Leoncavallo is usually performed in a double bill

known as Cav And Pag with Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana?

-Carnival Of The Animals.

-I Pagliacci.

What name is given to the thymus gland and pancreas of an animal when used as food?

Sweetbreads.

Which county is bordered by Dorset and Somerset on the east and Cornwall on the west?

Devon.

The oldest Caribbean newspaper still in circulation, the Gleaner,

was first published in 1834 and is one of the broadsheets of which island?

Jamaica.

Ehrich Weiss, who emigrated to America from Hungary

as a young boy with his family, was a famous showman.

By what name is he better known?

Houdini. BEEP

Which - I started so I'll finish -

Which Nuremberg artist drew Praying Hands,

believed to be based on the hands of his brother,

who worked in the mines to support him while he was studying?

Erm... Van Gogh.

No, it was Durer. Albrecht Durer.

You had four passes. The name of Princess Diana's home was Althorp.

That momentous historical event, 1649, was the execution of Charles I.

JOHN CHUCKLES

Van Morrison also sang "cleaning windows"

and Independence is where they set out from in Missouri to go west.

You have now, Rob, a total of 23 points.

APPLAUSE

And now Simon Rundell again, please.

And you start out with 12 points with your knowledge of Monty Python.

Let's how you do with general knowledge. 23 is the score to beat to get through to the next round.

Here we go.

Which band, formed in Birmingham in 1978,

took their name from the numbering system used on unemployment benefit forms?

UB40

Which vegetable releases a tear-inducing chemical irritant called syn-Propanethial-S-oxide

when it is cut?

Onions.

Who began writing his Inspector Morse novels after reading a detective novel

during a holiday in North Wales and deciding he could do better?

Pass.

Which French-Jewish army captain was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1894

on trumped-up charges of selling military secrets to Germany?

Dreyfus.

Which of the major golf tournaments is the first to be played each year

and the only one to be staged at the same venue every time?

-The US.

-No, the US Masters.

In the film Meet The Parents who plays the formidable Jack Byrnes,

a retired CIA officer with a lie detector in his basement?

Robert de Niro.

In which city did the street artist Banksy begin his career?

Bristol.

The date in August when red grouse become fair game is known by what name?

The Glorious Twelfth.

What is the title of the BBC2 observational comedy

starring Warwick Davis and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant?

Pass.

The name of which period of geological time

comes from the Latin for coal-bearing?

Pass.

The pleasure pier in which Essex seaside resort became the longest in the world

when an extension was opened in 1898?

-Clacton.

-Southend-on-Sea.

In Greek mythology, who went into the underworld

in an attempt to bring his wife Eurydice back to life?

Pass.

The echidnas or spiny ant eaters and which other Australian animal

are the only mammals to hatch from an egg?

Platypus.

Which cocktail is said to have got its name

from the implement used by American oil men in the Middle East

to stir vodka into their cans of orange juice?

Screwdriver.

London is one of the cities in A Tale Of Two Cities - what is the other?

Paris.

Which girls' public school was founded in Kemptown, outside Brighton,

by three sisters in 1885?

Roedean.

What was the first commercially available artificial sweetener,

discovered by Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg in 1879?

Saccharin.

Which capital city lies just south of the point

where the Blue Nile and White Nile merge to form one river?

-Cairo.

-Khartoum.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury has duties

that include maintaining party discipline.

By what title is he better known?

The Chief Whip.

Which entertainer, who began his career as a pop singer,

sculpted the statue of Eleanor Rigby in Stanley Street

near the Cavern Quarter of Liverpool?

Pass.

-Which playwright was president of Czechoslovakia...

-BEEP

..from 1989 to '92

and became president of the new Czech Republic from '93 to 2003?

-Vaclav Havel.

-Is correct. You have five passes.

Tommy Steele sculpted the statue of Eleanor Rigby.

Orpheus went in the underworld, as you very well know.

Carboniferous is the name of that period, coal-bearing.

Life's Too Short is the title of the observational comedy

starring Warwick Davis and Ricky Gervaise

and Colin Dexter is the writer of the Inspector Morse novels.

With those five passes, Simon, you have scored 25 points.

APPLAUSE

And finally, Mark Skinner again, please.

And you start out with 13 points with your knowledge of Tintin

and 25 is now the score to beat to get through to the semi-finals.

Here we go. Two and a half minutes.

Which dog, similar to a small greyhound,

was particularly popular as a racing dog in Northern mining communities?

Pass.

Which rock singer founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party,

first registered as a political party in 1983?

Screaming Lord Sutch.

What two-word term for a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous situations

means "deadly woman" in French?

Femme fatale.

Which courtier of Dionysius of Syracuse is said to have been seated at a banquet

with a sword suspended over his head, held by a single hair,

in order to show the transitory nature of power?

Damocles.

Which atoll in the Marshall Islands was used by the Americans

to conduct atomic weapons tests between 1946 and '58?

Bikini.

What name is given to a hard-boiled egg enclosed in sausage-meat,

coated in breadcrumbs, then deep-fried and usually eaten cold?

Scotch egg.

Richard Ashcroft was the lead singer with which band that split up in 2009?

The Verve.

In medicine, what term that comes from the Greek for "guarding again",

describes an extreme allergic reaction, such as when some people eat nuts?

Pass.

Which Yorkshire-based detective created by Peter Robinson

made his first appearance in 1987 in the novel Gallows View?

DCI Banks.

In which spin-off series from Doctor Who

does John Barrowman play Captain Jack Harkness?

Torchwood.

What was the name of the American sailing ship

found drifting and abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean on 5th December 1872?

-Mary Rose.

-Mary Celeste.

Which Welsh mezzo-soprano, born in 1980,

surprised the travellers on the London Underground

by playing a 45-minute set disguised as a busker in November 2011?

Katherine Jenkins.

In which city was the Royal Pavilion transformed from a relatively modest house

into an Oriental fantasy by John Nash for the Prince Regent?

Brighton.

What phrase for winning an easy victory originated in horse racing

and refers to a jockey relaxing his grip on the reins

when victory appears certain?

Pass.

Which James Bond villain had the first name Auric?

Goldfinger.

The name of which Chinese city means "northern capital"?

-Kathmandu.

-Beijing.

What items used in gambling were known as devil's bones

because they were made of bone and led to ruin?

Dice.

Which Hungarian-born composer was renowned both as a virtuoso pianist

and for his scandalous private life,

although he later took minor orders in the Catholic church?

-Bartok.

-Liszt.

Which month of 1929 saw the start of the Wall Street crash?

-November.

-October.

What is the name of the red felt hat with a black silk tassel,

similar to a fez, worn by Muslim men?

Pass.

In 1964, which artist filmed the Empire State Building

-from early evening until just before 3.00am...

-BEEP

..for his film Empire -

the only thing that happened was the lights going on and off?

-Andy Warhol.

-Andy Warhol is correct.

Four passes.

That phrase, when the jockey thinks he's won,

is winning hands down.

Anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock is that term that comes from "guarding again".

Whippet is the name of that small greyhound

and the name of that red felt hat with the black silk tassel is a tarboosh.

Four passes, Mark. You have scored - that last point was very important -

26 points.

APPLAUSE

Well, that was a close-run thing. Let's have a look at the scores.

In fourth place, 15 points, Kate Jamieson.

Third place, 23 points, Rob Hemming.

Second place, 25 points, Simon Rundell.

In first place, just got it - 26 points, Mark Skinner.

Which means that Mark Skinner is tonight's winner

and he goes through to the semifinals - congratulations to him.

Commiserations to Simon Rundell but with his score of 25

it's possible that we will see him again in the semifinal.

If you'd like to be a contender on the next series,

do go to our website:

And do join us again next time for more Mastermind.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.

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